CBO Estimates $1.6 Trillion Deficit For First 10 Months of Fiscal Year

In the first ten months of fiscal year 2023, the United States borrowed $1.6 trillion, with a $228 billion deficit in July, according to the latest Monthly Budget Review from the Congressional Budget Office.

The following is a statement from Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget:

With just two months left in the fiscal year, we’ve now borrowed $5.3 billion per day and have already surpassed all of last year’s deficits. The deficit this year and next year are on track to be 50 percent larger than before the pandemic, despite the fact that the pandemic is over and the economy seems to be growing at a steady clip.

No matter what one thinks of Fitch’s recent downgrade, it is clear that they are right that there are plenty of things to worry about when it comes to the government’s finances.  We managed a step in the right direction through the Fiscal Responsibility Act, but even that is threatened by attempts to dodge discretionary caps, enact new tax cuts, expand current tax breaks, or further worsen Social Security’s finances. We should be building toward a healthier fiscal outlook, not gutting the important savings from FRA for all they’re worth.

How do we begin to tackle rising debt and deficits, growing interest costs, and Social Security and Medicare approaching insolvency? It won’t be easy, but a bipartisan fiscal commission could provide the right opportunity to get those conversations started. With everything on the table – including all parts of the budget and tax code – our leaders should show the American people that they are capable of making the tough decisions to put our fiscal house back in order.

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For more information, please contact Kim McIntyre, Director of Media Relations, at mcintyre@crfb.org.